The moon, though covered by clouds, was high in the sky by the time they began to make their move.

Valen was very thankful for the cloud cover that had rolled in that day, because it blocked out what light the moon and stars would have provided. They could see the Blackscale Order’s encampment from the fires they had burning, but they would not be able to see him or Layne as they approached. They had inverted their cloaks so that the darker side was out. Valen’s cloak didn't have the Shadow Corps insignia on the other side, but that wasn't why they did it anyways.

With their hoods up, and using the fact that the Imperials would not be able to see thanks to ruining their night vision with their own fires, the hope was that they would be able to pass through the camp in silence without being detected. 'Like shadows,' Layne had said. The biggest issue with their plan was the enhanced senses of the dragons that were also all over the place, lounging around like deadly war machines at naptime.

Valen, however, felt certain that with the stench of so many other humans around - unless they got too close to one of the dragons - they would be able to get around them undetected as well. That theory was about to be tested as they reached the first of the wyvern corpse piles.

They had been burnt by fire too strong to be anything but dragon fire, blackened until they were almost unrecognizable. Valen felt a surge of hatred for the people responsible. What sick bastards could possibly do this and go on acting as though they'd done nothing wrong? Of course, he knew the answer to his own question. Ravas Velitarii and his dragon riders.

He had still never spoken to the man face to face, but just seeing him from across the scaffolding that had been intended for their public execution in Lakevale had been enough to show him the man was bad news. This, though? This showed Valen that Velitarii was evil. He needed to answer for all that he had done.

For now, though, their only goal was to get in and rescue their friends. After talking for a bit longer with Layne about his idea, they had agreed it was their best shot and not only that, it would do the most possible damage to the dragon riders. The more they could hurt the Blackscale Knights, the better for all the people of the Empire.

They crossed through the field of wyvern bodies and Valen did his best to simply focus on placing one foot in front of the other as he followed behind Layne. They had to stay as close together as they could. His own expertise with sneaking was still incredibly limited, while the ranger’s was decidedly not.

This was the easiest part of their approach – their own, very human smell was covered by the stench of burnt wyvern, which meant the dragons would not smell unknown humans until the scent mixed in with those of all the people they already knew and were familiar with. The monsters had opened the door for them to sneak in, and all they had to do was walk through it.

Once they reached the first of the tents, however, the real challenge began. Their progress slowed quite a bit as they stuck to the shadows of the dark tent. Because of how busy the place was, they were able to stay beside even the lighted tents, as their shadows would appear to those inside to be their own people. Of course, they could not stop in those places for long. Simply crouching there while someone can see their shadow for too long would be suspicious. It was a balancing act, one that Valen did not quite understand for himself just yet, but that Layne seemed to know quite well.

Soon enough they were making their way smoothly, if still a slowly, through the camp. They moved from cover to cover, avoiding the campfires where larger groups of the riders seemed to congregate. If he estimated their numbers, he would have said that there were at least a thousand people there if not more, which meant that there was no way that all of these Imperials were dragon riders. Some might have been apprentices, or perhaps regular Legionnaires that had been sent up into the mountains after them to help protect the camp.

Regardless, it was obvious that these Imperials were more than just confident. They were cocky, and that bravado made them believe no one would be stupid enough to come into their own camp when they were surrounded on all sides by soldiers, dragon riders and, well, dragons.

The last of those three proved to be the most tedious to escape the notice of, as Valen and Layne had thought. Though there were still many riders out on patrol, watching for their quarry even at night, there were a lot of dragons around. Too many for Valen’s comfort.

Several times, they had to decide between crossing near to a dragon or passing too close for comfort by a large crowd of riders and soldier. The times that Layne seemed to think they could afford the risk, they chose the latter. But eventually they did not have a choice, and at those times the dragons always seemed to notice something. Valen’s heart pounded every time they slipped past a dragon’s notice, praying to the Four that their luck would hold long enough for them to get through to the wyvern cages.

Regardless of whether or not his prayer was heard, they managed to make it through the tents that made up the largest part of the camp. He couldn't be sure without something to give him a more exact estimate of the time, but it had to have been at least two hours since they began their approach from the ridge. Valen was sweating profusely and his were clothes drenched in it.

He felt adrenaline racing through him but fought to keep it under control, as what happened next would be the key to their entire rescue operation. If they were noticed now, there was no chance of escape at the dead center of what was likely the entire Blackscale Order. The guards here were more alert than elsewhere, though their attention was also focused more on the creatures they were guarding than on anyone trying to approach them.

Wyverns all around struggled against the chains that bound them or tried to slam themselves against the cages they were kept in, but to no avail. Valen was not sure what kind of metal the cages and chains were made from, but they could not have been regular steel like the ones Raenelir had been freed from back in Lakevale.

If that were the case, he would be seeing at least a few damaged cages and chains where some of the stronger, older wyverns should have been able to get loose. That made things a bit more complicated, of course, if Layne’s lockpicking skills were not up to par. They would have no chance of breaking the cages or chains themselves, not to mention that even when they did get up close to any of the wyverns they would be more likely to attack than let them help, after being imprisoned here like this by humans.

Stolen story; please report.

They would have no way of knowing that Valen and Layne were friends, after all.

Looking around, Valen tried to pick out a good first target, knowing that their first choice would make all the difference. Then he saw, perhaps halfway between the main camp and the massive command tent at the encampment’s center, a cage holding three wyverns that he had never seen in person, but whose species were still instantly recognizable to him.

He grinned, turning to look at Layne and then pointing quietly in the direction of the cage he had chosen. The wyverns in question were not as large as some other species, but they were not renowned for their size. The ranger wasted no time in beginning to lead him carefully through the field of cages. The drakes themselves noticed their passing, but there could be no helping that here, and the Imperials would just ignore agitated wyverns at this point.

They received several threatening growls and even a couple of roars as they went by, but they avoided being noticed by the human guards and that was what mattered. The two of them had nearly gotten to the cage they were trying to reach, their chance of freeing their friends within their grasp, when suddenly there was the sound of buffeting wings and wind blasted them as a dragon dropped from the sky, directly in their path.

A rider, wielding a double-headed battleax, took the two of them in with the kind of surprise one might expect upon seeing an insect in their home.

“Well, well, well,” the man said, a broken grin splitting his face under a crooked nose. “What do we have-“

Before he could say anything more, an arrow had sprouted in his right eye, straight through the open faceplate of his helmet. The man spasmed and fell from the saddle, dead before he hit the ground, but the danger was not over. Now, they had an angry dragon to contend with. Roaring, the black-scaled drake reared on its hind legs, its wings extending out to either side in a show of aggression. But it took too long to attack, and Layne had three arrows in the air before the dragon could do anything more. Two of them stuck in its left eye, while the third shot up one of its nostrils.

The beast’s roar changed pitch into something higher, full of pain, as it stumbled away. Blinded in one eye, it slammed into one of the cages nearby, knocking it – and the wyvern inside – over onto two guards that had tried to come running at the sound of an angry dragon. The two guards were crushed, one dying immediately, though the other screamed in pain for a moment before another arrow was out of Layne’s hands and caught the woman in the throat.

“RUN, Valen! I’ll hold off whoever comes for as long as I can!” she shouted, even as the cries began to ring out from the all around the Imperial camp. They knew they were there, which meant he had a very limited window to act. Without wasting time to respond, Valen turned and sprinted as fast as he could across the last bit of ground between himself and the cage holding the three wyverns they had been headed for.

As he reached the cage, the wyverns inside recoiling at his quick advance and letting out very unfriendly challenging snarls, there was the sound of someone crying out in pain behind him. More of the guards were starting to show up, of course, and there was only a short period of time before more dragon riders descended as well.

So he went to work on the cage’s locks, doing his best to try and pick it with what he had on him – a sword, and no tools meant for lockpicking. Of course after they had been noticed, when Layne had told him to run, he had forgotten to take her tools from her. Now he was stuck here with nothing to work with except a weapon that could barely make a scratch on this stronger-than-steel metal used to contain the drakes.

Though he hated the thought of not feeling like he was himself, Valen immediately found himself wishing that, somehow, that same thing that had happened to him back in Trinity as he rushed to escape the city would happen again now. He didn't know what caused it before, or if there was another way to trigger it. All he knew was that he needed it - that inhuman sensation of strength and speed, senses sharper than any human’s.

He needed it and then suddenly, it came.

Valen roared and immediately the wyverns in the cage stopped growling at him, faces twisting instead to curiosity. As he roared, his hands gripped the sides of the cage where the bars of two different faces met. He pulled with all of his might. There was a pop of pain in his shoulders as his muscles bulged and bones creaked, but though it hurt horribly he kept going, feeling the strength rushing through him.

Then, suddenly, the two sides of the cage were ripped apart and the wyverns inside were freed.

Out the three leapt, their cries of joy echoing across the camp. Then their attention fell to the humans that had imprisoned them and their joy turned to rage. The wyverns exploded into movement, and they lived up to the name ‘Lowland Reapers.’ Unprepared and without the assistance of dragons, the Reapers tore through the Imperials like a scythe through wheat at harvest.

They were smaller than most other species of wyvern, but that only helped Valen to identify them. The Reapers were known for their claws as sharp and long as swords, with thin, lithe bodies that were abnormally long and wings that were tipped in more of the blade-like appendages.

Attention was turned to the loosed wyverns, so Valen turned to see Layne rushing over, no longer having to distract the Imperials thanks to their newer, better distraction. He doubted that they would be able to do much against the dragon riders once they were organized, but by then the damage would be done. They had more wyverns to free, after all.

As Layne approached Valen, she skidded to a stop, her eyes going wide in shock as she met his gaze. Though he wanted to try and say something, he felt his arms suddenly pop back into socket and the inhuman sensation that still pumped through him pulled him onwards, to the next cage. So he went to work, and a moment later the ranger turned and went to another of the cages herself, now able to lend herself to picking locks and opening cage doors instead of having to fire at approaching Legionnaires. Valen was able to pull apart three more cages before the rush of strength left him, and each time the wyverns within calmed immediately upon his approach.

He wished that he could take the time to appreciate the weirdness of that, but the sudden feeling of creeping unconsciousness and exhaustion hit him like a hammer to the head as the ‘lightning’ left him – lightning being the only way he felt he could describe the way the sensation seemed to jolt through his system.

As the fourth cage was broken, and the two wyverns within leapt out to join the chaos, he collapsed to his knees. He was nearly spent. Layne, thankfully, was at his side in a few short seconds, helping him back to his feet and then directing him to the command tent.

They had figured that, if their friends were here, they would be kept inside that tent. As individuals of particular interest to High Lord Velitarii it would make sense. If they weren't there... Valen had no idea what they would do next. The thought of possibly leaving without being able to save any of the others made his stomach lurch.

With Valen stumbling along they made their way to the side of the massive tent. Layne drew his sword, cutting an opening in the canvas so that they could get inside without using the main entrance. It was well lit within and they found themselves hidden behind stacks of crates

Pausing only long enough for them both to catch their breath, Valen and Layne moved to the end of the crates. Straining against his physical exhaustion to peek around the corner, Valen felt both elation and dread. Hera, Simon, Samuel, Hedrick, Samorr and Bardus were all being held in a cage at the dead center of the massive tent, with Raenelir in chains a bit further in... and standing before the Highborn, eyes locked onto the beaten wyvern, was Ravas Velitarii.